Tempted
by ElisabethMariaWilliams
Summary: The story of Embry's lineage and all the secrets behind it
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Tahlia Call! Stop dancing around in that mirror and get ready. The bonfire is going to start soon" my mother yelled. I turned down the sounds of Louis Armstrong's voice on the radio and looked at myself once more, my dress was still a little big but my mother had btought it in as best she could, Joy Ateara had a much bigger chest than I did but it was still nice of her to give me her old dresses. "I'll be out soon mama, I'm just putting on my shoes" I told her. While the dress was a little frumpy my shoes were not, Joshua Uley had been making leather sandals for a long time and they were always better than any shoes mama or papa would find in Port Angeles. They were also a lot cheaper. I was so excited when he gave them to me for my birthday.

My mama was frantically running up and down the house trying to get it neat and tidy, Chief Black and Mrs Sarah would be here any minute to drive us down to the beach in that big red truck of theirs, usually we would walk but papa was still in pain from his fishing accident last week. "Grab the desserts and the bread rolls, we'll take them with us" mama said quickly, just as the loud rumbling of the truck appeared in our driveway. Mama and Chief Black helped my father into the front of the truck before she hopped into the back of it with me. Chief Black was one of the few people who had cars on the Res; Mr Ateara, Harry Clearwater and some other members had some too. Joshua talked about how he would need one now that he had gotten a mystery girl pregnant.

The beach was filled with members of the tribe, not all of them happy to see us, we had only been invited because my father had the most successful fishing business here. We had left the Makah Reservation for a better life and we had found it here, papa could even afford a car now-but he always said that it would be a waste to sepend money on things we didn't _need_. That also meant that we still wore hand-me-downs and that the food wasn't any better than before, he was always saving up for something but I didn't know what that was exactly. I didn't think that mama knew either.

"Come with Magda, let your Tahlia join the other girls for a little bit. We'll set up the food here" Mrs Sarah said to my mother and she led her to a set of tables that someone had brought, I hated that dhd had insisted on sending me away, the girls here didn't like me. My father wasn't the only fisherman in La Push but he was the only successful one, and he refused to hire any of the other men who were struggling. They held it against me.

"Tah-lia" I heard someone stretch out my name, it was Harry Clearwater's longtime girlfriend Susan. "Hello Sue" I smiled shyly. She put her hands on her hips, "It's Susan, only my friends call me Sue" she reminded me. And if there was anything I knew it was that we were not friends. "Right. Sorry" I said. "I was just wondering what you were doing here this is a _tribe_ event, after all" she stated. I repressed a sigh, so it was going to be one of those days. "The council invited us here" I informed her, and I sounded braver than I felt.

"What's going on here?" Joy Ateara asked with a smile. She was kinder than Sue, _Susan_ , was but usually when we were alone or around our parents, in front of everyone else all bets were off. It made me nervous that the two of them were here together, especially because they were friends. "Traitor, I mean _Tahlia_ was just telling me about how her father bought them into a _tribal_ event" Sue told her, and then she gave a small smile before she walked towards Harry and Young Quil.

"Sue really is nice if you give her the chance to be" Joy smiled, and then she followed Sue across the beach to where her new husband was waiting for her. Instead of extending my torture by following them I sat down on a log next to Old Quil, that old man had always been kind. He was still hoping that Joy would give him grandchildren but the story had gone around that she was struggling and he looked for anyone willing to let him play grandfather.

"Having fun Tahlia?" his eyes were shining with mischief like they always were, he was like the grandfather I had always hoped I had had. My grandparents were long gone when I was old enough to know what grandparents were, whether they had passed on or just lost contact with us I never knew. My parents never spoke about it and I had never asked. "I'm excited to hear the legends" I said instead, it was better than the disappointing truth and I was truly excited. "You didn't answer my question" he pointed out.

"I...don't fit in" I shrugged. He knew this, _everyone in the tribe_ knew this. The Ateara general store was the only place in La Push that we bought at, every other place was always conveniently out of whatever we wanted. Even the diner that the Clearwater's owned would run out of breakfast. "People are just worried because you're new, and nothing ever changes down here. It will all settle down soon" he whispered. I didn't even want to remind him that we had been here for almost two years.

"Tahlia, Old Quil it's lovely to see you again I hope that you're keeping well, Tahlia go sit with the other kids. The Chief is about to tell the legends" my mother suddenly said. I hadn't seen her come up to me, if I had I would have hidden, she didn't seem to understand that people didn't want us here. Or maybe she did and she didn't care. "Yes mama" I nodded and I took a deep breath before walking towards an undeserved punishment.

The legends were amazing, it was incredible how creative and magical those stories were. It was clear by the looks on everyone else's faces that they had heard these many, _many_ times before but I couldn't see how it could ever get boring. The Chief came alive when he spoke and Old Quil would add in commentary about pieces of information he had forgotten, the two of them turned it into a performance I couldn't turn away from. It was perfection.

"Go ahead and see if the Chief is done so that we can get going" my mother instructed. The Chief was still busy talking to the other members of the council but Mrs Sarah was standing by herself near the treeline and looked _much_ more approachable. "Mrs Sarah...am I interrupting?" I asked quietly. She looked startled...and dazed and even a little off balance. "Tahlia, Tahlia, Tahlia. Shouldn't you be with the other little girls?" she slurred. She didn't smell drunk but she seemed it.

"My mama sent me, she wanted to know when you and the Chief would be ready to go" I said slowly. She laughed quietly and pressed her hand to her chest, " _Of course_ she does. Tell her that _my_ husband is still busy, Quil will take her home" she said slyly. I gave a quick nod and walked back to my mother, not really understanding what Mrs Sarah had been trying to tell me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Where was Sarah last night? I didn't see her after Billy had shared the legends, did she leave early?" my mama asked, she was chopping vegetables for dinner while the radio played on in the background. "Where Sarah _Black_ was is no one's business, the only thing that matters is that the bonfire was a success and that everyone got home safely" papa said to her. She turned her head away from him angrily and clicked her tongue, "It's just a question, why must Tahlia be the only one to have friends here?" she wanted to know. He was upset and she was upset too, neither of them focused on the fact that they were arguing in front of me, something they never did.

"Mama" I interrupted when I heard a knock on the kitchen window, it was old Quil, Quil and Harry Clearwater. I watched my parents put on their smiles and pretend that they weren't fighting just a minute earlier. "Ateara, Old Quil, Clearwater. What brings you men around?" my father asked with a smile, motioning for my mother to set out some tea and coffee. "Don't bother with all of that, we've come to see your Tahlia" Old Quil told my mother. Both Quil and Harry looked uncomfortable, my parents looked confused, Old Quil looked expressionless and I was wary. I had hardly ever spoken to these men, I couldn't think of anything we'd be able to talk about.

"Oh, well Tahlia why don't you take your guests into the living room" my mother suggested. I stood up and made my way to the next room, fighting the impulse to run away from whatever uncomfortable situation this was guaranteed to be. Old Quil took my father's chair, Quil and Harry took the couch and I sat on the wooden stool near the radio. There was silence for a long minute before Old Quil spoke, "I wanted to discuss something with the three of you, in regards to the tribal school" he started, there was an audible sigh of relief from Quil.

Old Quil threw him an unimpressed look and continued on with explanation, "Quil, Harry the two of you have started a fishing company and renting out boats, have you considered using some of the older boys to help you...to keep them out of trouble?". They didn't seem like they had ever considered the idea, but they would probably consider it now. "It could be cheap labour" Harry reasoned with a sly smile. "And we'd have more hands to get more fish" Quil added.

"Tahlia, you are good with numbers, Mrs Cope says that you help her out at the school in Forks when they do their taxes. Why don't you try helping my boy here, and the Tribal school. They will give you some money to help save up for college" Old Quil grinned. By the looks on Quil and Harry's faces they had never discussed payment, but it would have been rude to arhue with an elder. They knew it. Old Quil knew it too.

"I still have school...I would have to ask-" but I had already been cut off by my mother. "She doesn't need the extra work, she needs to make sure that she focuses on school. She'll get a scholarship" she said proudly. "Exactly, Tahlia needs to get her degree in business and accounting, and then she'll come and help the business grow" my father beamed. It didn't matter that I had no interest in fish or accounting or business, or even in staying on the Reservation, life was already difficult for us I didn't want my own family to go through the same things one day.

"She could put it on a transcript, it shows that she helps her community. Colleges like that" Harry said quickly. Harry was probably thinking about how little he could pay me, I didn't have a degree yet. "It could help her go to school...then she will do it. Tahli this mustn't affect your school work" my mother said sternly. And just like that the matter was discussed and closed.

The line at the Ateara General store was long, it snaked down the halls and out onto the pavement in front of the store and the old and rusted carports didn't seem to do much against the light rain. Small groups of both old and young women were chattering loudly while they waited to get into the store, I stood at the back of the line and pulled out a paperback romance novel I had previously snuck into the house, hoping to read in peace until it was my turn to move forward.

"Is that one of the dirty ones?" I heard a deep voice say over my shoulder, before a strong arm snatched the book from my hands. "No Joshua, it's just a love story" I said quickly, but he flipped through the book anyway with a grin that dropped when nothing 'dirty' showed up. "You know that all of these love stories crap, don't you? Guys don't act like that in real life" he said dryly. But I didn't know, I was seventeen years old and I had never had a boyfriend or even been kissed, boys pretty much stayed away from me here. Except for Joshua, but he was like an annoying older brother.

That was why I was so excited for college next year, I'd have the chance to leave this place and go somewhere new where no one knew me. I'd have the chance to have friends and boyfriends, no one would treat me like an outsider and I'd be far away from the fish. "There might be some guys who are like this" I shrugged, books like these didn't fall out of the sky. There had to be at least one guy out there who was as sweet and romantic as the men in those books. "You listen to me Tahlia, if you ever meet a guy who is exactly like the one's in those books you should run. For the hills. _No one_ is like the people in fairytales" he said seriously.

"You'd know all about that Uley" a voice said. Two men I had never seen before were right behind us with a girl my age next to them. Her eyes never left the floor and she kept twisting her hands in front of her body, her oversized dress fanning out on the dirt path. She was afraid. The men on the other hand had their chests puffed out and their heads held high, thrir eyes slanted in disapproval. "Be careful kid, Uley here is dangetous to little girls like you. You trust him, give him an inch and you end up pregnant" the same man said.

"Ally...what are you doing here?" Joshua said dazed. He stepped forward to reach for her hand but the men stood in his way and pushed him back. "Allison, give him your message. Then we go" the other man said sternly. Allison didn't lift her eyes from the floor but her quiet, tear-filled voice waa clear, "Joshua, we have to get married. For the baby. The wedding is next month".

Joshua looked just as confused as I did but Allison and the two men didn't linger, they gave their message and then they left. My eyes looked at the people in the line in front of us, they had yet to move and no one had even noticed that Joshua's life had just taken a turn. "I can't get married Tahli, I don't even kniw Allison. We hung out a few times but she can't be my _wife!_ How do you marry someone you don't know?" he asked heartbroken. I was glad when he left without waiting for an answer because I didn't have one.

The line finally moved enough that I could see into the shop, I had wished that I had done that before standing in the line that long. "Susan and her sister were helping in the store, Joy Ateara was nowhere to be found. I turned around without even bothering to buy the milk and the loaf of bread, I'd save myself the embarrassment of her telling me that they had run out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Tahlia, right?" an unsure voice says from behind me. The urge to keep walking and pretend that I didn't hear the unfamiliar sound is great, just knowing that everyone from the Reservation is here at the Quileute Festival makes me nervous. I had hoped that my parents would realise that being surrounded by all these people would mean that there was a greater chance for embarrassment but they don't seem to understand that. Mama still wants me to try and be nice to the people that have made it clear that they don't want us here, papa doesn't believe that these people actually hate us because his business is doing better than ever.

"Yes" I reply, keeping the discomfort and anxiety out of my voice. The owner of the voice is someone I've never seen before, a white boy who is probably only here to buy a head dress that he'll only wear at Halloween. His hair is a dark brown and his skin is freckled, but his body is strong and lean and long. He looks like he's a runner, and he is fit enough to pull off his snug jersey and tight jeans. But I kniw that I've never seen him before and just knowing that he already knows me makes me nervous.

"My name is Joseph, Joseph Stanley. I just wanted to maybe talk to you for a minute...if you don't mind, Mrs Cope told me about you. She says that you're really great with numbers and I'm...not" he rambles. Mrs Cope? Why would she bring me up in conversation? I had already found out that she had talked to Old Quil about me and now...Joseph Stanley. "I don't know what you're trying ask" I say honestly. Because I know that he wants to ask something, he just doesn't look like he knows how to ask.

"I'm asking if you could tutor me or do anything to help me, really. I know that you don't give lessons or anything, I'm just hoping that you could maybe just make some notes for me or something, I'd pay you" he offers. Notes? What kind of notes would he want from me? The kind that peple cheated off of? I can't do that. "Please? Just the basics, I'm failing my senior year here and I need to pass this to get into WSU. I'll take anything you've got" he says desperately. The thought of more money in my pocket is tempting, there are things that I want that I know papa would never even consider buying me.

""Let me see if I can find any old notes just...just wait here" I tell him. It would take twenty minutes to run back home, get the notes and come back here to the festival. I hurry down to the house, not bothering to catch my parents attention, and afterwards I make sure that I hide the notes inside my jacket on the way back. They aren't senior year level notes but he did ask for the basics to help him understand what he is doing now.

Joseph is standing with a group of boys that must all go to the Forks school when I get back to the festival, and they are all standing in the spot that I left him in. They're all noisy and talking about someone named Karen and the reputation she has around school. It doesn't sound like a good one. "Oh, you're back" he says embarrassed when one of the boys points me out. I hadn't heard him say anything bad about this Karen but he still stood there when they said that she liked to 'service the community'. Even I knew what that meant.

"Guys...why don't you all go down to the tide pools. I just need to talk to her for a minute" he tells them. I show Joseph the notes and he quickly pages through them, they explain the basics and are a summarised version of the textbook I had in the tenth grade. His group walks further down the beach, some of them occasionally looking back at him like they're confused but he ignores their questioning looks. After he nods at my notes he quickly puts a note in my hand, I manage to see the '100' before I shove it into my pocket. I don't know how much notes usually cost but this is too much.

"Do...you want me to get change for this?" I ask quietly. He chuckles softly and shakes his head, "This is all yours. You had to run back home and run back here, and you already had these made...you're going to have to replace them, right?" he assumes. He is right, Idid run there and back but I probably won't use those notes again. "Can I get you something to eat...a burger or something?" he asks, and now his face is slightly pink and his eyes are on the ground.

"Something to eat?" I ask unsure. He nods and looks up at me, whatever made him bashful no longer exists because he holds my hand amd leads me down to a stall. A stall that Joy, Susan and Mrs Sarah are running. "Uh, wait. Maybe we should see if there are any other places selling food" I say quickly but he rither doesn't hear me or isn't listening. I'm afraid that I will be embarrassed in front of this stranger and everyone else at this festival. If Susan says anything I won't know what to do. "Two burgers please. One with everything on it, medium rare and the other...how do you want your burger Tahlia?" he asks. It's only when he says my name that they all look at me. "Same. Well done" I answer.

Mrs Sarah takes the order and quckly tells her husband how we want the burgers, but her eyes are on us as much as Susan's and Joy's. "Do you want something to drink?" Joseph asks and I shake my head, but he purchases two cans of cool drinks anyway. "For in case you change your mind" he shrugs. No one talks as the burgers are made, except to tell Joseph how much it costs and to tell him what his change is. Im grateful that he steers us down to the beach after we get our food, it was more than uncomfortable having them there and watching me like that. I don't know why they volunteer themselves for everything.

Sitting with Joseph is quiet and a little nice, he asks some questions about the work I've given him and about ehy the festival is so important to us. He's more than surprised when I tell him that I'm originally from a different Reservation and I explain that my father moved us here to grow his business. "So is that why those girls looked at you like that? Because you're not from around here" he wants to know. I shrug. "Not everyone likes strangers" I tell him. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something but he must think better of it.

Joseph stays with me for an hour longer before his friends come back to find him, it's time for them to all head back in to Forks. Like before, Joseph takes my hand and leads me through the crowd at the festival to the car park near the beach. "Tahlia...maybe I can get to see you next week? To-to talk about the notes" he starts. He must see the confusion on my face. "We can meet here next weekend, Saturday morning. I'll be on the beach at 10:30" he says quickly begord he gives a small smile and jumps into a minivan. I don't know what to say, or think or do. Joseph was nice enough but he expected to pay me, is he foing this so that he won't have to pay me the next time he wants some notes?

"That was not the best move. Those girls are going to tear you apart, I mean I love my woman I do, but I know what she's like. As much as she knows that you're an outsider shes still going to expect you to date inside the tribe. Everyone will" Quil says quickly. I look at him confused, I hadn't even seen him make his way beside me."I'm not dating him, he just wanted some help" I defend quietly. But he laughs amd shakes his head, "The only help that boy needs is a reminder that he should date his own kind. He doesn't want you for help, he wants you because you're hot and he knows it" he says.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Quil's words run through my head on the way home, did he truly believe that Joseph had other intentions? That he was...interested in that way? He wasn't, he couldn't. No one said it but everyone knew that people from Forks and people from the Reservation didn't mix. Not really. Of course there was Mr Swan and Chief Black but they were true exceptions, and that friendship had only blossomed because of Old Quil's marriage to Old Marie Swan. That marriage had been long and the stories of how they fought for each other were well known, but their story wasn't a fairytale it was a cautionary tale. Old Marie's family and Old Quil had fought over her final resting place for years, and it proved to be another example of how people had _accepted_ their relationship until it no longer suited them.

I didn't want to have to defend my relationship for the rest of my life, having to fight one side of my family and having to constantly reassure the other side. And the effect that it would have on a child. Quil was lucky that his family had served on the council, it was the reason he was treated with any respect. His bloodline was diluted but it was never held against him, was that what he was trying to avoid? He didn't want another child to endure the whispers that he had? Did he realise that his family put him in a position of power and that any family I could possibly have with Joseph-or someone like him-wouldn't be protected by that same privilege?

"What are you thinking so hard about, child?" my mother asked. She had managed to sneak up on me while I had been thinking and had startled me for a moment. The large tupperware container she had taken down to the festival was still mostly full, I already knew that people had avoided buying her cupcakes because _she_ was the one selling them. And even though she was treated like this she would probably still defend the people living in the Reservation. "Just some school work...can I have a cupcake mama?" I asked to distract her. She beamed at the opportunity to feed me and placed a chocolate and vanilla cupcake in my hands. "You'll be able to take some cupcakes to school to share with your friends" she smiled, and that was probably all she would ever say about how unsupported her stall at the festival was.

 **THE BEACH**

"I didn't know if you would be here" an uncertain voice said, Joseph looked unsure but also a little relieved. His long body was stretched out on one of the logs that were scattered around the beach. "I...you needed help, right?" I said quietly. Quil's words had stuck with me, there was a small chance that Joseph wanted more than a tutor. It was a small chance but it was a chance, why not see what it was that he actually wanted? "I actually did pretty well with your notes, I almost got a B. It's one of the highest marks I've gotten all year" he smiled. He was proud of himself, I could see that. It was nice to see him so happy, math was difficult. "That's great, you'll be getting straight A's in no time" I told him, once he understood the basics he'd be able to understand the rest.

"So I didn't get you in any trouble did I? That guy...he didn't look too happy to see us hanging out together" he said, eyes glued to the floor. I didn't have to ask who he was talking about I already knew that it was Quil, I had been thinking a lot about that day myself. "No, he just wanted to talk. I wasn't in any trouble" I smiled. He smiled too, probably glad that there wouldn't be any trouble that would be at his front door any time soon. "Do you feel like getting something to eat? I didn't have any breakfast and there's that diner down the street" he suggested. There was only one diner in the whole area, the Clearwater diner, I was lucky that I hadn't been embarrassed the last time that he had been here but I didn't know if I would be that lucky again.

My nervousness was threatening to get the best of me, especially once I saw how busy the diner was. I hadn't seen Susan or Joy but that didn't mean that they weren't around here somewhere serving other customers. "We could take that table in the middle, if you want" he said, I nodded after scanning the room and he lead me there by my hand. "Tahlia, how nice to see you here..." Mrs Sarah said through tight lips, she looked concerned once she saw who I was sitting with. I hadn't seen much of her after that strange night and the festival. "My name is Joseph Stanley, it's nice to meet you" he jumped up to speak before I could. She hardly seemed impressed but she shook his head anyway, turning back to a table where Chief Black, Harry and Quil were all seated.

"Joseph, you were with Tahlia at the festival if I remember correctly-" she started but she cut herself off as soon as Chief Black made his way to our table. "Sarah, the girls need help in the kitchen. Tahlia, say hello to your parents" he ordered, Mrs Sarah threw an unhappy look in his direction but left for the kitchen. The Chief gave Joseph and I stern looks before he walked back to his own table. "I guess that you're kind of a big deal here, even the Chief came over. I've never really talked to him, he's kind of intimidating" Joseph rambled. I had stopped listening and tried to understand the reason behind the Chief's look. Did he have the same ideas that Quil had?

"Tah-lia...and your _hokwat_ , what do you want?" Susan asked, and she was clearly unhappy. My face heated up at her tone and the way that she had addressed us both, I should have said no to eating here. Joseph was going to see that I wasn't the big deal he thought I was, and any hope of finally having a friendship or anything else would disappear. "I'll have the breakfast special, do you want anything Tahlia?" he asked me. It was almost like he hadn't heard how Susan had spoken to us, but he must have. She didn't even try to hide her disdain. I shook my head and she was gone just as quickly as she had arrived.

"I wonder what her problem is?" he muttered quietly, but the way he looked at me let me know that he did in fact want to know what her problem was. "She's not a big fan of mine" I said. He frowned a lilittle bit but didn't say anything more, even once our food arrived. I had told him that I wasn't hungry but he still divided his food in half and slid it on a side plate before he laid it out in front of me. "Just in case you get hungry" he shrugged. And I was hungry, I didn't trust that Susan would be professional handling my food but I knew that she would have been kinder to him. And he was being kind to me.

We ate quietly, occasionally Joseph would tell a funny story about things his friends had doneor talk about the silly things about himself. It was nice to have a friend, Joshua hadn't been around the Reservation after Allison's family had hunted him down and he was trying to convince his parents that he didn't need to marry her. Unfortunately for him her family was traditional and they had made a meeting to bring the issue up before the council. Until he managed to find something that everyone could agree on I was doubtful that I would see him any time soon. But I did sort of have Joseph.

"I'm just going to head to the bathroom and then I'll drive you home" he smiled. Like the previous time we had met he pulled out his wallet and put a few large notes in my hand before he disappeared to tne bathroom, Susan had laid the bill in front of us without even speaking and Joseph had been far from impressed. I checked the total on the bill and slid his money into the small leather folder, making sure that his change was placed where he had placed his elbows on the table. Susan came over to the table, counted the money and huffed away once she realised that there was no tip.

"You just had to do it, didn't you? Fuck what anyone else thinks, right? It's like you're not even trying to fit in" Quil said as he walked past the table, he didn't slow down to listen to any answer I could possibly give him. I didn't really have an answer for him. "Are you ready to get going?" Joseph asked when he returned, I gave a quick nod before he took my hand in his and lead me to his car. Like earlier there was silence, unlike earlier this silence was uncomfortable. While Quil and Susan were the only one's to show some hostility towards my new friendship it wasn't difficult to imagine that there were others who had felt the same way today.

"If you want...we could see each other again tomorrow. We could look at the tide pools and maybe have some sandwiches with us-I'll even make the sandwiches" he offered. I didn't want to lie to him and just agree to another day at his side, we had met today to talk about math and it had yet to come up other than in passing. I needed time to think about whether or not I was willing to possibly have more hostility like I had seen with Quil, or curiosity like with Mrs Sarah. There could possibly be those that would judt stare and not say a word, like the Chief. Was Joseph worth all of that trouble?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Tahlia? Would that be okay? If we met up tomorrow?" Joseph asked, he seemed genuine. Quil had been quick to point out that Joseph was an outsider, but I was an outsider too. Instead of being upset that I was with another outsider would people not be happy that I wouldn't be bothering _them_ anymore? My friendship with Joseph had just started but it was good. So far. I wasn't moping around the house and I never felt uncomfortable because of _him_ , it was everyone else who had made this awkward and changed the mood. It was more than unfair to blame Joseph for the way everyone else had made me feel.

"Look, I know that things were a little weird at the diner, I don't know why but I know that it was weird. If...if you don't want people to see us together then a picnic would be good, we could go somewhere quiet. Unless you've changed your mind and you don't want to hang out anymore" he shrugged. He didn't even try to hide how upset he was by being nonchalant about the situation. It felt like he was being honest and open with me. "People on this Reservation don't like my family very much Joseph, we're...we are the outsiders here. We try to fit in but all people seem to remember is how different we are supposed to be. It's not that I'm ashamed of our friendship...but people might not treat you very well if you're friends with me" I explained.

It was difficult to know how he had reacted to what I had said with my eyes on my hands and not on his face. Would he now decide that _I_ wasn't worth the trouble or would he understand that I had little control here? "So..." he started clearing his throat, my eyes raised up to understand what he was saying "if that is the only issue, I'll meet you by the tide pools in the morning. Around 10:00?" he asked. The smile on his face was wide and it beamed at me, it was only then that I realised that he had dropped me off at the front door to my hone without me ever giving him the address. And he was gone before I could ask him about it.

 **THAT EVENING**

How was your afternoon Tahli?" my mother asked excitedly. I was doubtful that she had even heard what I had done today, but she was always excited to ask. Maybe one day she was hoping that I would tell her that people and I finally got along and that all was right with the world. "It was fine mama, I went to the diner and the beach" I told her. My mother would be happy that I had a friend, but I didn't know if she would be happy that that friend was _male_ or from Forks. "The diner? Were you alone? Did you go with one of your friends?" she wanted to know. It was difficult to suppress the eye roll, she knew that I didn't have friends. Everyone knew that I didn't have friends.

"Mama, Susan and Joy were not at the diner with me, they don't even like me" I reminded her. But she was intent on remaining blissfully unaware, "Nonsense Tahli, they care about you. Why else would they give you so much attention?" she smiled. The urge to tell her sbout Joseph had disappeared, she would only focus on those two girls even though they were the ones that made things worse between the tribe and myself. Whenever I was out people would...not ignore me but they were indifferent towards me, but Joy and Susan always came to highlight the differences. Why couldn't my mother understand that I wasn't what they wanted in a friend?

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

I had tried on almost all of my dresses, trying to see what would look best for the picnic with Joseph, I knew that it wasn't as special as a date, but it waa important because it was my tirst time doing this. I never got invited to things unless it was a compulsory tribal event, and this was the complete opposite on meetings about tribal security or trying to raise funds for those that were worse off. This was for me and Joseph, something that was planned for _our_ friendship. I wanted to look nice, even if it was only a little bit better than how I usually looked. After looking at the time and realising that I would be late I threw my first option back onto my body and tide my hair up, braiding the ponytail before I tucked it within itself. And then I ran.

" Whoa there, slow down" Joseph laughed. He was already seated by the tidal pools with a duffle bag and a basket at his side, looking comfortable and very handsome. His tanned shorts and black golf shirt made him look athletic...and it also highlighted that he and his family had the money to spend on nicer clothes like that. I wondered when he would realise that I didn't. "I didn't want to be late" I explained, out if breath. I had never been one for fitness and it showed today, it felt like blood was rushing in my ears and I was the tiniest bit dizzy. "Hey, you look like you're about to pass out...come here" he motioned. I stepped towards him and felt his hands on my waist as he steadied me, and he managed to hand me a bottle of water from the basket.

"Thank you" I whispered, once my body had returned to normal, and I now had the sense to feel embarrassed. It was a ten minute run here, surely _that_ shouldn't have tired me out like this. "Sit with me for a minute, we can look at the pools" he smiled. He seemed more confident this time and eager to make me comfortable. His hand was still at my side as he walked me over to the pools, there was very little going on in them today but we still kept our eyes open for any activity. "I didn't think that you would really come today, but I'm glad that you did" he confessed, a light blush covering his cheek. But I understood what he didn't say, that maybe I hadn't felt that he was worth this...risk.

"I had a little trouble getting dressed" I said not looking at him, my cheeks warmed up at my words but I was lucky that my complexion hid my blush. He laughed, "You look beautiful, and we match". Like Joseph I was in a black shirt and had worn my khaki skirt, while my shirt was long sleeved and hid most of my torso my skirt hit me just above the knee. It was one of the shortest skirts my parents had ever allowed me to own, and it had only been allowed after Mrs Sarah had shown my parents that the other girls living on the Reservation wore similar skirts. That my outfit matched Joseph's was an unexpected joy, it made me feel more confident about my choice.

"You're right, we do ma-" I paused as soon as I realised that we were not alone. "Tahlia" Chief Black nodded, he had Mrs Sarah at his side and his daughters holding each hand. They were clearly here for a family day and had managed to run into us instead. "Hello Chief, Mrs Sarah" I replied quickly, Joseph said his own greeting and stepped forward to shake the Chief's hand. "Tahlia, I will speak to you later. Sarah, walk ahead with the kids and I'll catch up" he boomed, shaking Joseph's hand. And it wasn't lost on either of us that the Chief had left without any introductions taking place.


	6. Chapter 6

**THE BEACH** "Whoa, he didn't seem too happy" Joseph said nervously, rubbing his moist looking hands on his stiff trousers. He was right. The Chief was not very happy and I couldn't find a reason to believe that I was not the cause of his unhappiness. Did he believe what Quil believed? That I should restrict myself to the same Native men who never bothered to pay me any attention before? It hardly seemed fair to be expected to force myself on people that clearly wanted nothing to do with me. "You're right, he seemed...off" I agreed, trying to both appease Joseph and downplay what we had both witnessed. But that would only work for so long, the Chief stood a ways away with his back turned to us. While he hadn't asked Joseph to leave he was still very clearly waiting for his moment to speak to me.

"Do you mind...?" I asked quietly, gesturing to the Chief with my eyes. Joseph shook his head, saying he would go to his car and get his radio for some music. I slowly made my way to the Chief, making a point of stepping on the dry leaves so that he would hear me coming. "You've been spending time with the boy" he said calmly, keeping his eyes on the ocean in front of him. The...annoyance...I had heard in his voice had disappeared and a stoic stance had replaced it. "He's my friend" I said simply. It was true, Joseph was a new friend but a friend nonetheless. And it was something that both excited and scared me, I would value his friendship but I didn't want the tribe to dislike me any more than they already did. It was difficult.

"To you he is your friend, to that boy you are something else. I don't want to interfere in your...friendship, but I will warn you so that you understand what it is you are doing. The young men here want you, it is clear, you are foreign and mysterious. Even forbidden. But you are disliked, not by your own doing and changing that will be difficult. In small towns there is nothing else to do but gossip and remember. In time, it may change. Perhaps a new young girl will come into town and make people whisper more than you do-unlikely but possible. This...friendship with that boy makes people whisper, and soon it won't just be whispers there will be confrontations. It is no one's business but your own, but people will insert themselves into the situation anyway. Consider what you are doing Tahlia" he warned.

In all the time that I had known the Chief this was the first time that he had spoke this many words in the presence, and it wasn't the most joyous conversation. He said that I was lusted after, purely because I was disliked and excluded, he was also saying that this friendship could hurt me in the future. It could make an already doubtful tribe isolate me even more. "The people here don't like me, they don't hide it either. If they don't like or want me why should I turn away someone that does?" I didn't mean for malice to colour my voice, but it did. He was the Chief, I was supposed to respect him and I did. But he wasn't telling me to find a friend or do what was right for me, he was talking about how I would remain Tribal gossip.

"That doesn't mean that you should use that boy to spite your people. He feels something for you, Tahlia, it is as clear as day. It is also clear that you don't feel the way he does. Stop playing with his feelings and do what you are supposed to do" he snapped. He was angry with me, and I was angry with him too. "I am not playing with his feelings Chief Black, I might not love him but I don't think that he loves me either. He is my friend and I care about him as a friend. How can you question how I feel when you haven't even asked how I feel?" I snapped back. A firm and warm hand encased my upper arm, pulling me close to the man that was attempting to reprimand me for this I hadn't done and things he couldn't possibly understand.

"Don't test me girl, I am not your Joshua or that Joseph you send around. Those are reckless children not giving a damn about their situations and turning to distractions like you trying to avoid their problems. But I see your distraction and I am not in denial. Now get your shit together and figure out what you're doing" he seethed before releasing me and storming down the beach. He had called me a distraction for those avoiding their problems, what did that mean? Did he know something about Joseph that I didn't? Is that why he had mentioned denial and running away from problems? I had never heard Joseph talk about himself or any part of his life. He had always focused on me, except for when he had needed my help for school.

"Did you get into any tro-what the hell happened to your arm?!" Joseph said loudly. I had been so focused on the Chief's words that I had neglected the angry pink marks on my arm from where he had held me, now that I had my attention on them I felt the warmth and dull pressure he had left me. "Tahlia, did he do this to you? Has he done this before?" he demanded. I shook my head no, rearealising that I hadn't answered either of his questions. "He didn't mean it, he was just upset. He's never done this before...but he didn't mean it" I said quickly. I didn't know why I bothered to defend but I did it. Yes, this wasn't like a time before where Chiefs ruled absolutely with absolute power, but there was still reason to be worried.

"We have to tell your mother" he insisted, "We have to tell someone". He didn't understand my position in the tribe, or that the two of us had made way for this...incident to occur. The Chief and I had been arguing about Joseph himself. "No Joseph, just leave it alone" I said. Without even looking at his face I knew that he was upset with both the Chief and myself. But that couldn't be a concern at this moment, I still needed to understand how this whole day had started one way and ended being something ugly and twisted.


	7. Chapter 7

**SARAH BLACK POV**

It was just like Billy to get duped by the Call family, first it was that Magdalene and now it was Thalia, those women were just looking for trouble. Magdalene wasn't hiding just how in love with my husband she was, first it was all of her 'meetings' with the Council (where I was conveniently uninvited to), then it was her needing to hear our legends at the bonfires (where she had to sit right next to my husband while her husband was left in the fringe of the treeline) and now she needed her daughter to get involved with the council to get into college. She was always trying to throw her family in my face, her husband followed her lead without any qualms while mine refused to even listen, her daughter never got into any trouble while she offered to help 'raise my children right'.

I hated that woman, and I hated Billy's interest in that Thalia. She was fooling around with that white boy,bringing more attention from the wrong kind of people into our Reservation. The Joseph boy had a history of sexing young women on Third Beach, leaving the remains of his drinking and debauchery on our lands. Of course Thalia would get involved with that boy, and then he would have to 'save' her from her own mistakes.

 **BILLY BLACK POV**

Sarah was getting worse and worse every day; she had lost her mind over the last few months. I saw the way she had looked at young Thalia at the dinner. Her bitterness and her hatred were barely concealed; it was becoming more difficult for her to hold on to her sanity. I knew that she was struggling with our fertility problems, it bothered her that she couldn't have the son that she so desperately craved. The twins could see it, members of the tribe had picked up on it and the worst of it all, Magda Call had commented on it.

Sarah had accused Magda of trying to destroy our marriage more than once, I hadn't seen what she had, but I rarely did these days, her drunken ramblings and paranoid words had put an end to any of the faith I still had in her. Our marriage was on its last legs and she knew it, she had taken to sleeping in the garage (where the mini fridge was always stocked) and I made sure to watch over the girls so that they wouldn't catch their mother embarrass both them and herself.

 **MAGDALENE CALL POV**

"Where have you been Thalia?" she tried to slip her way into the house undetected but I had been waiting for her all day. She had disappeared from the house before I could find her and now she was back later than she ever had before. "Mama…I was down at the beach today" she said softly, but I knew my daughter. Her eyes were trained on the floor and her face was flushed, she had been doing something I would never approve of. And she knew it. "Tell the truth Thalia, where were you and what were you doing?" I had hoped that she would tell the truth, especially after I had heard the rumours that she was going out and around town with a young white boy from Forks. One with a bad reputation.

"I was at the beach mama, I swear, you could even ask the Chief. He saw me, and Mrs Sarah too" she said quickly, it was hurried and it seemed forced but she was telling the truth. She had always been a terrible liar and I knew that she would not have mentioned the Chief if she was lying. I would definitely ask him if he had seen her, Sarah wasn't my biggest fan but I knew that she would not lie about what she had seen. Sarah was a drunk and maybe even took drugs but she had always been honest. "But I did meet someone down there, someone Mrs Cope asked me to tutor. He goes to the high school in Forks" she added, after some time. I knew about Old Widow Cope sending Thalia a few students to tutor and make some money with. It was kind of her, and it put my mind at ease. Thalia had been working, she wasn't fooling around like Joy Ateara and Susan Clearwater had implied at the fair.

"Just be careful, I know that you're working with that boy but I've heard stories about that Joseph. He is just like Joshua Uley, they like to use young girls and ruin their lives. Men might say that they love but men don't end up with the babies, women do. There are more than enough single mothers on this Reservation and I don't want to see you become another one of those girls. I won't forgive it" I let her know. It had happened to me when I was younger and I was lucky that my husband had chosen me even after I was carrying another man's child, Thalia would not be so lucky. Thalia's father was a deadbeat who barely even acknowledged her existence or mine after I discovered that I was pregnant. I was sure that he didn't even know that we had had a daughter together, or just how strong and smart and beautiful our daughter really was. But I would not support her if she made my mistakes, I would make sure that she knew that I would help her as much as I could but I would not watch her fail.


End file.
